TCRP Report 196: Private Transit: Existing Services and Emerging Directions

Private transit services—including airport shuttles, shared taxis, private commuter buses, dollar vans, and jitneys—have operated for decades in many American cities. Recently, business innovations and technological advances that allow real-time ride-hailing, routing, tracking, and payment have ushered in a new generation of private transit options. These include ride-splitting products like UberPool and Lyft Line, “microtransit” services, and new types of public-private partnership that are helping to bridge first-/last-mile gaps in suburban areas. But while they often fill a need, there are often perceived or real concerns over the safety, equity and other impacts of private transit providers.

A new SUMC-authored report published by the Transportation Research Board’s Transit Cooperative Research Program, Private Transit: Existing Services and Emerging Directions, explores the effects of private transportation services in the US, and proposes to transit agencies and jurisdictions a way forward to account for, regulate, and incorporate private transit into their planning.

Tags: TRB, TCRP